c'etait salement romantique
by quintessentialy
Summary: Marinette's covered in paint, and Adrien feels the need to help her clean up - an incredibly short mini-fic.
"More red?" Mylene asked, flicking her brush toward the canvas stretched out on the floor. Marinette stood over it, arms crossed and chin tucked between her index finger and thumb. "I actually think it could do with a bit more green."

"I agree. Top left corner could use some blue, since the colors are so warm up there." Marinette recommended, reaching for a paintbrush. She wrapped her hand around the wooden handle and glanced at Mylene, "Sound good?"

"Sounds great." She said, smiling kindly at Marinette. "Thanks for helping. I know everyone has that huge history project –" she started, but Marinette laughed and shook her head, waving away the compliment with a flick of her paintbrush.

"Don't even worry about it. I finished that project a couple of nights ago and I really care about the fencing team…" Marinette trailed off, and Mylene couldn't help but grin. Marinette caught her grin in the corner of her eye and turned toward her friend, arching up an eyebrow. "What?"

"You care about a certain _someone_ who fences." Mylene teased, and Marinette gasped and blushed a dark red, "I'm sorry! Did I embarrass you?"

"Mylene!" Marinette whispered, glancing across the courtyard. She could see Adrien from her spot on the ground, and she scrambled to stand up straight when he looked her way. She slid her hand through a plate of blue paint and gasped as she tumbled into the banner, slipping across the design.

"Oh, no!" Mylene gasped, staring at the blurred images on the poster before bursting into uncontrollable giggles. Marinette stood up quickly and turned around – the left half of the poster was supposed to read _'notre équipe d'escrime est le meilleur!_ ' and now read something along the lines of a very blurry ' _notre équ d'escrime est le meilleur!'_

Marinette buried her face in her hands, smearing blue paint across her face. Her pigtails disheveled and covered in paint, she looked like a small, embarrassed child. "I am _so sorry_ , Mylene."

"No! Don't be! We can fix this easily." Mylene assured her, smiling gently, "Why don't you head for the bathroom and clean up?"

"Of course – I'll be right back and help you finish it!" Marinette turned on her heel and took off toward the bathrooms, blushing as she ran past the fencing team. She pushed open the bathroom door and headed straight for the sinks, rubbing the blue paint from her hands and using a towel to try and dab the rest from her shirt.

The stall behind her opened and in the mirror she saw Adrien exit, and his eyes widen as he looked up and caught her gaze in the mirror. "Oh, no!" She squeaked, turning around to face him – still covered in paint. He pressed his palm against his mouth to bite back a laugh, but he couldn't resist. She groaned and covered her face with the towel.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to, you just – look so silly. Are you alright? Here, let me help." Adrien rambled, and she lowered the towel to see him grab another, wet it in the sink, and raise it to her cheek. He rubbed the paint from her cheek and she blushed. Paralyzed by the brush of his knuckle against her skin, she fumbled for words before pressing her mouth into a line, deciding that saying nothing was better. "Were you working on the fencing banner? I think I saw you and Mylene – I'm sure it looks great. She's very talented." He said, pulling the towel away. "As are you."

"Thank you." She replied quickly, taking a deep breath, "Very much. I just – um, I slipped in the paint."

"It didn't hurt, did it?" He asked, and she shook her head quickly.

"Nah – I'm a trooper. Some paint isn't going to get the best of me." She smiled as he dragged the towel across her cheek, under her jaw. She met his gaze and his green eyes bore into hers.

"The blue paint makes your eyes brighter." He noted, a bit breathlessly. She stopped breathing, her heart stopped beating – she mumbled a 'thank you' and had to force herself to look away from him – it was too much.

"I have to get back to practice." He said suddenly, fumbling with the towel and throwing it into the sink, "Marinette – show me the banner when you're done."

"Of course."

"And try not to have another slip up. Don't want to get into another messy situation." He winked, and she reached for the sink, holding onto the rim with white knuckles. She squealed when he left the bathroom, turning to look at herself in the mirror – still a mess, but a happy one.

When she returned to Mylene, she confessed everything to her – and Mylene was nothing but overjoyed. "How romantic!" She gushed, and Marinette nodded.

"Awkwardly romantic –"

"Badly romantic!"

"But so romantic."


End file.
